Kaffir \Kaf"fir\, Kafir \Ka"fir\, n. [Ar. k?fir infidel, pagan, fr. kafara to be skeptical in religious matters; -- a name given to certain infidel races by the Mohammedans. Cf. Giaour.]

(Ethnol.)
   (a) One of a race which, with the Hottentots and Bushmen, inhabit South Africa. They inhabit the country north of Cape Colony, the name being now specifically applied to the tribes living between Cape Colony and Natal; but the Zulus of Natal are true Kaffirs.
   (b) One of a race inhabiting Kafiristan in Central Asia. [Spelt also Caffre.]

Kaffir corn (Bot.), a Cape Colony name for Indian millet.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)